"Israel's greatest strategic strength is peace"

President Peres addressed the importance of investing resources in the Negev and the Galilee:

"We should change the national priorities and invest resources in the Negev and the Galilee – in higher education, in infrastructure and in hi-tech centers"

The President of the State of Israel, Shimon Peres, opened the seventh Galilee conference today (Tuesday) which is taking place in Tiberius with an on-stage interview which addressed the major issues of the day. President Peres discussed the peace negotiations with the Palestinians and said, "Israel's greatest strategic strength is peace. If there will be peace we will find budgets we didn't think we had. Israel is facing a new reality that includes within it new opportunities. Both the European Union and the Arab League are putting forward proposals to us which only a few years we couldn't have even dreamt of. They used to say that peace with Egypt and Jordan was impossible, and today we understand how important those peace deals are. I believe that Israel is facing new opportunities and I hope that some of us can throw out our preconceptions. Everyone knows that to achieve peace we will have to give up territory. There is no argument about that. If the government decided not to create new settlements then we should stand by that decision."

President Peres also addressed the importance of the development of the Negev and the Galilee and urged a greater resource allocation, "We should change the national priorities and invest resources in the Negev and the Galilee – in higher education, in infrastructure and in hi-tech centers. We should prioritize the Negev and the Galilee. We developed the medical field in Safed with an aim to expand it further in the future. There should be a university in the Galilee. I'm pleased to see the development in the Arab sector. The Hi-tech park in Nazareth, in which Jews and Arabs work together, changed the face of the city. An agreement was signed at the President's Residence with the University of Texas which will set up a satellite campus in Nazareth. The galilee has things which no other part of our country does. The government has a great vision for its development and it should be carried out as soon as possible."

The conference was also attended by Prime Minister Netanyahu, Minister for the Development of the Negev and the Galilee Silvan Shalom, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, the Mayor of Tiberius Yosef Ben David and other distinguished guests.

Photo Credit: Mark Neiman/GPO